January 2017 – Clare
Random Memory: Making Rosaries
Memories January 26, 2017
Salted Egg Chips, Yay or Nay?
Food January 25, 2017
App Review: YouTube Kids
Finds January 24, 2017
Waste Management Issues
Environment January 23, 2017
My Word for the Year: Forward
Life January 22, 2017 Have you ever had a mantra for the year? I have. I started it last year. It can be a sentence or a phrase that will guide you and your actions for the year. I think I got it from another blogger who posted something about it a year prior to me starting it. Last year I used “Love Yourself” because I felt that I was giving more of myself to other people and to work and I needed to step back and re-learn to prioritize myself and recognize my own needs before I took on the needs of others. It was helpful for me last year and I decided to do it again today. A phrase that stood out for me at the start of the year was “Make it or Break it.” There are several things that I want to accomplish this year and I thought that it would be a good way to motivate me. When I had time to think about it, the phrase just seemed to hold too much pressure for me. If I wanted to love myself last year, I think that expecting too much from myself might be the exact opposite. I feel too stressed from life as it is. I decided to think of something else.
One of my favorite bloggers, Kate Alvarez, posed the question (I am paraphrasing here): if you could choose one word to guide you this year, what would it be? Funny enough, I had one in mind before I even saw the post.
I was watching America’s Next Top Model’s new season and they were using the word “Boss” as their main word. They wanted the models to keep the word in mind with everything that they were doing. They wanted them to act and live like a boss to accomplish their model-dreams. That’s where I got the idea of using just one word to guide me for this year. That’s when something came to me, a word that just popped out in my head:
Forward.
| Thinking forward… |
I turn 40 this year. I look back and realize I have so many dreams that have yet to be fulfilled. There are so many things from my past that I felt I could have done better. There’s nothing I can do about that. The only thing I can do now is move forward.
I have several health issues. I feel like it has always been one step forward, two steps back when it comes to my health. Sometimes I just want to give up. I need to face everything and just keep moving. Keep doing what I can. Keep going forward.
There are so many challenges at work. It feels like every time there is an obstacle that has been overcome, there is another greater one that takes its place. I know that I can’t just crawl into a corner and wait for it to go away. No matter what, I just must do what I can and hope for the best. I must keep moving and keep pushing forward.
I have my share of insecurities, anxieties, worries and moments of depression. Sometimes it keeps me from doing anything at all. It is a struggle to overcome. But I cannot let it bring me down. I cannot let it push me down and let me drown. I need to look ahead and fight for that light at the end of the tunnel. I need to look forward.
For anything I accomplish, I need to remember not to let it get to my head. I need to keep a level head. I need to keep living my life the way I used to with or without any accomplishments. I need to keep my head forward.
Forward. It is just one word but now that I think about it, the meaning of it has so much significance. For every struggle, I need to move forward. For every regret, I need to keep looking forward. For every setback, I need to keep pushing forward. For every accomplishment, I need to keep going forward. I should not let life hold me back by either being too complacent or too worried.
What about you? If you could choose one word to guide you this year, what would it be?
Book Review: Still Star Crossed
Books January 21, 2017
The Best Makeup Guru: Wayne Goss
People January 20, 2017
My Japanese Aunt
Memories January 19, 2017
Breakfast Recipe: Creamy Scrambled Eggs
Food January 18, 2017
My New Facial Care Find: St. Joan’s Products
Finds January 17, 2017
Ian Somerhalder and his Quest to Save the Planet
Environment January 16, 2017
Weight Loss Struggles
Life January 15, 2017
Inspirational Books: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Books January 14, 2017
Custom Cakes from Karenina’s
Food January 13, 2017
When most people are thinking about custom cakes online or birthday cakes to order or for delivery, several TV shows come to mind. Ace of Cakes, Cake Wars, Cake Boss…all these shows that feature custom cakes that you once thought would be impossible but end up getting made as cakes.
For me, when I think about custom cakes, I think about my cousin Karen, who has her business called Karenina’s Cakes.
| A Wedding Cake from Karenina’s Cakes |
I still remember the day when she mentioned that she wanted to take baking classes and that she was enrolling in a TESDA course for it. I even remember the time when she mentioned that she was about to finish the class and they were having their finals, doing some sort of demo or exhibit at a mall to show off their work. That seems just like yesterday and now, she has become such an amazing baker/cake designer and she just blows me away with the work that she does.
If anyone ever thought that you needed to go to a fancy baking school to become an amazing custom cake maker, my cousin would make you think you thought wrong. TESDA did a good job teaching her and guiding her to do her thing.
Every time she brings a cake that she’s done to our family gatherings, it’s something that is sure to be a hit with everyone. Her cakes seem to get better every time she brings them and from the looks of her social media accounts that feature the cakes that she makes for her customers, practice makes perfect. Her cakes just keep getting better and better.
| She makes cupcakes with her cakes too! |
These days, she’s very busy designing custom cakes and delivering these cakes to customers who can be from as far as Quezon City (my cousin is from the South) who are more than willing to pay a little extra just so she could be the one to make their cakes. She’s even been featured on several websites about good custom cakes. She has even made some for a couple of celebrities (ordered for them by their family and friends).
| Even Bamboo has received a Karenina’s Cake! |
I am so proud of her – and so happy that there is someone who will one day make me an amazing birthday (or, if it will ever happen, wedding) cake with a design that will make me wish that I don’t have to eat it (because her cakes are not just creative and artistic, they taste good too). Her cakes just look too good to have to slice up and eat (but when you do, there are no regrets).
| Street Food Cake |
The thing that makes her cakes amazing is that she can make so many different and creative designs depending on the occasion. Her street food cake was featured online because it was unique and looks realistic (and except for the sticks, they are all edible if I am not mistaken). She even made a hamburger cake and it looks like the real deal too!
Whenever I watch those custom cake shows on TV I am always disappointed with how for the most part, the decorative parts of their cakes are non-edible. You see them constructing things with wood, wire and cardboard then covering them up with icing or fondant and passing it off as a cake. Only the base is the cake most of the time in these shows. That’s probably the reason why I love my cousin’s cakes because you can eat the decorative parts too.
Don’t let the photos I posted here fool you – my cousin Karen also makes cakes that do not have fondant or all those fancy decorations. She makes good normal cakes with the icing and everything (those are the types of cakes she brings when we get together). Personally, as much as I admire the fondant-decorated cakes and cupcakes that she makes, I love it when she gets creative with cakes that involve just icing (and sometimes bits and pieces of chocolates and other candy).
Are you looking for someone to make a custom cake for you or your loved one? Do you need a cake that would stand out? Leave a message with my cousin Karen and let her know that I sent you her way!
*Photos from Karenina’s Facebook Page
Piano Lessons
Memories January 12, 2017
No Bake Does Not an Easy Recipe Make
Food January 11, 2017
My Daily Shampoo Habit
Finds January 10, 2017
Living Eco Friendly with Lauren Singer
Environment January 09, 2017
Wanted: Cheap Small Air Conditioner
January 08, 2017
Good Books to Read: It Ends With Us
Books January 07, 2017